Fate and Misfortune
by TRikiD
Summary: The North Wind recruits an octopus agent to look for Dave after he escapes his snow globe prison, but they also need Dave's help to deactivate one of his old devices that have gone haywire. Begrudgingly, the two octopi team up to find and destroy the device, and unexpectedly bond with each other along the way.
1. Chapter 1 - Given a Test

Fate and Misfortune

Chapter 1 - Given a Test

She was just a normal Northern Pacific giant octopus, normally with a bright yellow color, despite being a creature that can change her color whenever she wanted, and her sparkling blue eyes always gave off a friendly gaze.

And today, the octopus hoped to use her charming demeanor to make a good first impression to a very important group of professional agents. And not just any agents. She had been called in by the secret agency known as the North Wind, which were known in the animal kingdom as the group of highly-trained animals that helped creatures who can't protect themselves.

As the female octopus quietly traveled down the halls of the North Wind headquarters, accompanied by two polar bear guards, she was curious as to how this meeting would go. This wasn't the first time she had come in contact with North Wind agents, for they had crossed paths with her many years ago.

But after she failed to do something successful on her own, the octopus decided that maybe she should let a team of professionals help her. After all, she didn't want those past two years of intense training to go to waste.

Eventually, they reached the office in which the meeting would take place, and the guards told her to enter the room while they stayed out in the hall. Within the center of the room was a long table, and on the other side of the table sat four distinct animals: A wolf, a polar bear, a snowy owl, and a seal. Each of them stared expectantly at the octopus.

"Welcome, Octavia. Please, have a seat," the wolf calmly began while gesturing towards the single chair on the other side of the table.

Once she was seated, the wolf and other three animals turned towards a large computer screen on the wall, which displayed many odd images when the wolf pushed a button on a remote.

"Shortly before you began your training, we endured a rather intriguing confrontation against a vile and cunning creature known as Dr. Octavius Brine—or as he is more commonly known as, David the octopus," the wolf explained as images of a human with horrible dental health and a purple octopus appeared on the screen, making Octavia lean forward in curiosity.

"I heard about him. He was behind the world-wide disappearance of penguins, right?" Octavia asked out of curiosity.

"As well as the cruel mutation of the penguins, turning them into mindless monsters that terrorized humans. If it wasn't for our timely arrival, and cooperation of a group of four penguins, David's plan to rid the world of nearly every other animal would have been successful. But even though we defeated him, it seems that he is free again, and is currently regaining his strength and recourses—and that is where you come in, Octavia."

The said yellow octopus blinked in confusion, "Are you giving me a mission?"

"It's more like a test," the snowy owl added flatly.

"Yes. We need your help to find and retrieve David, so that we can bring him in for questioning," the wolf went on, "Do you understand?"

"I understand, but—why me?"

"It takes an octopus to catch an octopus," the polar bear replied jokingly.

"I guess that makes sense."

"And if you succeed in retrieving David, you will graduate to fully-fledged North Wind agent."

A small smile formed at the edge of Octavia's lips, "You mean it?"

"Of course," the wolf answered with a friendly nod and smile, and then slid a folder across the table towards Octavia, "Here is all of the information we have on David, as well as some of his recent whereabouts. If you discover anymore clues, don't hesitate to inform us. You are not in this alone."

"Thanks. I won't let you down."

"I would hope not. This meeting is dismissed."

With that, the four animals stood from their seats and went back to tending to their own business while Octavia prepared to leave the room and begin her research on Dave.

"Hey!"

Octavia halted in the doorway when she heard the polar bear shout, and she turned to meet his soft gaze.

"It's good to see you again, Octi," the polar bear admitted.

"I missed you guys, too. Don't ever change, Corporal," Octavia added with a smirk before finally leaving.

As Octavia traveled towards the research lab, she curiously opened the folder to get a closer look at some of Dave's profile pictures. Upon coming across a photo of his grinning expression, Octavia admitted to herself that something about Dave was interesting; maybe it was the confidence in his fiery eyes, or the vibrant hue of his purple skin.

But she also didn't hesitate to admit that he wasn't the most handsome octopus either. She couldn't imagine how long he must have let his dental hygiene slip for his smile to become so deformed.

* * *

**Right so, I've been wanting to write a romance fanfic for Dave for quite a while, and I finally got this idea...I've got nothing else to say.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Play Your Part

**Before we begin with the next chapter, I'd like to give a huge shoutout to Rinkusu001, who was kind enough to draw Octavia in their style and let me use their drawing for cover art. Thank you again, Rinkusu001!**

* * *

Chapter 2 - Play Your Part

After staying up all night researching Dave the octopus' whereabouts for the fourth night in a row, Octavia figured she may have stumbled upon some useful information. She studied surveillance footage in Manhattan, particularly the events of Dave's defeat that she read about in his files.

It wasn't easy to track him, especially since he was shrunk down to the size of a mouse and trapped inside of a snow globe…which still didn't make any sense to Octavia. But she pushed her confusion aside, instead focusing on her discovery.

From what Octavia deciphered, Dave was likely taking refuge on a small and remote island out in the Atlantic Ocean. So, when she was sure of her new discovery, she called in the team of four diverse animals from the meeting the day before.

"What have you discovered, Octavia?" Classified calmly questioned, as he and the other three members of his team entered the room.

"If my surveillance is correct, Dave should be hiding out on this small island right here. I've already pinpointed its longitude and latitude, so that the GPS can find it," Octavia explained while pointing at an image of the island on a large monitor.

"That's the exact same island that Dave hid on after he captured all of the penguins," Eva pointed out with realization.

"He must've gone back to gather more resources," Corporal pondered aloud.

"If David was smart, he would have chosen a more new and unknown location to regroup," Classified argued as he typed information into his data pad, and then averted his attention to his teammates, "Corporal, Eva, chart a course for that island. Short Fuse, fire up the jet."

The others nodded in conformation before heading off to do their jobs, but Octavia waited expectedly for an order to be given. When a moment passed and Classified never spoke to her, her hope began to falter.

"Um, Mr. Classified? Is there anything I can do on this mission?" Octavia questioned, trying her best to hide her nervousness.

"You can stay here and keep looking for anything we may have missed regarding David," Classified simply replied, never looking up from his data pad.

"But I would like to come along and help, Sir."

"I know you would, but you are not a field agent yet, Octavia. It will be best to let the professionals handle this. I hope you understand."

Octavia sighed in defeat, "Of course, Sir."

Classified gave her one last look of approval before leaving to join the others, but he failed to notice the determined expression on Octavia's face. Octavia knew it was really bad for her career to ignore an order from a commanding officer, but she had worked for too long to be left behind in some research lab.

* * *

It was early morning by the time Classified and the others arrived on the island, making sure to hide as to not alert Dave of their presence. They noticed a purple submarine sitting at the docks, much like Dave's first submarine when they attempted to break in and rescue the penguins, but this vehicle didn't seem nearly as big or complex as the first one.

"David's lack in more advanced technology and a huge army of octopi indicates he won't be able to fight back," Classified pointed out.

"Which means now is the best time to strike," Short Fuse chuckled darkly.

"Precisely. But we can't afford any risks—again. We need to prepare for the unexpected."

Reluctantly remembering how they were easily defeat by Dave and his Octopi cronies the first time they broke into his submarine, the team made it their top priority to really be prepared this time.

But even though they were on high alert, they certainly didn't expect a stowaway on their jet. The stowaway didn't stick around for long, though, as she used her camouflaging abilities to sneak off of the jet, through the jungle and towards the docks.

Octavia slowly and carefully slinked towards the end of the pier, where the hatch at the top of the submarine was located. She easily turned the handle and opened the hatch, seemingly going completely unnoticed by the North Wind team.

The halls of the submarine were dim and quiet, but Octavia pressed on with vigor and curiosity. She was never afraid of a little adventure, and this was no exception. Plus, if she was successful in helping to catch Dave, she could prove to the North Wind that she was perfect field agent material.

A soft voice in the distance caught Octavia's attention, to which she changed her colors and climbed onto the ceiling to blend in. she eventually found what looked like the submarine's cockpit, and the voice was coming from whoever was sitting at the control panel.

"I don't care what you do to the intruders, just get rid of them. Just, ya know, don't murder them since that's frowned upon in all fifty states," the voice from earlier spoke demandingly.

The chair was turned away from Octavia, so she crept towards and peeked over the side. But to her surprise, all she saw in the chair was a simple tape recorder. Why would someone leave a playing tape recorder in the cockpit?

"It's rude to enter someone else's property without asking permission," the exact same voice spoke again, but it was behind Octavia now.

The said yellow octopus whipped around the find the new source of the voice, and her eyes widened in utter shock when she saw none other than Dave the octopus lingering in the doorway, a maniacal grin plastered on his face.

"U-Uh…I-I didn't…I'm not-," Octavia tried to speak, trying to find the right words, but Dave interrupted her.

"Don't tell me what you're not doing, and explain what you _are_ doing here in _my_ submarine."

Octavia tried to remain calm, as Dave approached her and kept a very close eye on her.

"I-I was just…looking for you?"

She hoped that he didn't hear the obvious lie in her tone.

Dave merely cocked a brow and crossed two tentacles, "Oh, really? Why's that?"

"Well, I've heard so much about you, and how you…fooled the humans with your Dr. Octavius Brine disguise, and stole all of those penguins right out from under their noses," Octavia bravely explained.

"And where did you hear all of that?"

"Just about every octopus there is. You're pretty popular."

"So, you figured you'd try and find me, so that you could bask in my glory? Correct me if I'm wrong," Dave asked quickly, as he got up in Octavia's face and his smile stretched even more.

Octavia chuckled and smiled meekly, trying not to get intimidated when he towered over her, "Y-Yup. You hit the nail on the head."

"Oh, I'm flattered! And I would never disappoint my fans, so feel free to ask me any questions."

"Um, ok…this is awkward. I hadn't thought of anything to ask because I never thought I'd get this far."

"Now that you mention it, I'm pretty impressed you even found me. I haven't had any company in-."

Dave's happy expression suddenly faltered when he paused mid-sentence, and he slowly turned towards Octavia with a suspicious glare.

"How _did_ you find me, anyway?" Dave inquired slowly while staring Octavia directly in the eyes.

"U-Uh, is that kind of information really important? Besides, I'm pretty sure all the best adventures start out with huge…" Octavia sheepishly rambled on, but nearly lost her voice as Dave rose as high as he could on his tentacles, "…mysteries."

"_You're_ gonna be a mystery if you don't tell me who you're working for right now," Dave growled warningly, but a blaring alarm went off before Octavia could answer him.

Dave raced over to the control panel, and gasped when he saw the North Wind through the surveillance cameras. The team was fast approaching, much to Dave's dismay.

"You liar! You led them here!" Dave snapped at Octavia.

"This isn't my fault! They were coming here anyway because you're a wanted criminal!" Octavia shouted back.

Dave was about to retort when he noticed that the North Wind was just about to reach the cockpit, so he pulled a lever to lock the door just before they could get in.

"Open this door, David! We are authorized to place you under our custody for questioning!" Classified scolded from the other side of the door, as Corporal attempted to break it down.

Eventually, the door busted after being hit so many times, and the North Wind jumped in and aimed their weapons at Dave. But just before they could fire, the said purple octopus grabbed Octavia and pulled her close.

"Not so fast, Wolfy! Come any closer, and little Canary here could get hurt!" Dave taunted, keeping Octavia immobile with his vice grip.

The North Wind froze, knowing they couldn't put Octavia in harm's way. But Octavia was panicking inside, as she tried to act fast. She quickly spotted the tape recorder in the chair beside them, and free one of her tentacles to grab it. Just before Dave could react, she threw the tape recorder at his head, dazing him temporarily and causing him to loosen his grip on her.

This allowed Octavia to slip away long enough for the North Wind to fire a small device at Dave, which popped open and expanded into a large glass terrarium to prevent Dave from escaping. When the terrarium finished forming, Dave found himself completely trapped and unable to squeeze out.

"You won't be able to keep me trapped forever," Dave growled deeply, as he glared daggers at Classified.

"We'll see about that," Classified calmly protested before turning his attention towards Octavia, "Well done, Octavia. You played your part perfectly."

Octavia blinked in utter confusion, "My part?"

"Of course. We knew you would try to sneak onboard and help us, so we left you alone in order to trick David into a false sense of security."

"He means you were bait," Short Fuse clarified.

Octavia knew she couldn't deny that that was a clever plan, and that she was happy she could help capture Dave, but she couldn't help but feel…guilty. And when she stole a glance at Dave as Corporal pushed the terrarium out, Dave stared back at her with a disapproving scowl.

* * *

**Well, not all first impressions are good, and Dave and Octavia definitely need to work on theirs. But don't worry, they'll make amends eventually.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Kill Him with Kindness

Chapter 3 - Kill Him with Kindess

"Can you tell us how many devices there are?"

"No."

"Can you tell us why they're only now going active?"

"I don't think so."

"Can you at least tell us how to deactivate them?!"

"Nope."

Even as Classified pressed on, Dave wouldn't cooperate; he merely leaned against the side of his terrarium prison while grinning confidently.

"Oh, come on! We've been at this all night, Tentacle Boy! So start talking!" Short Fuse snapped, his patience having been stretched thin for quite a while.

"I would, but I don't appreciate your tone," Dave argued.

"We wouldn't be so cold if you would just answer our questions," Classified growled demandingly.

"And I would answer your questions if you hadn't _kidnapped me_."

"You leave us no choice when you lock yourself away with weapons and surveillance, David!"

"Be that as it may, I'm still not talking."

The entire team groaned loudly in exasperation, all while Dave triumphantly smiled again and crossed two tentacles. But little did any of the quarreling animals know that Octavia had been sitting outside the interrogation room the whole time, watching them bicker through a one-way mirror.

Even if she wasn't a fully-fledged agent yet, Octavia knew she had to do something to help. She paid close attention to the North Wind and Dave, hoping to find something in the room that would help. Eventually, Octavia's eyes landed on Dave, specifically his droopy eyelids and bags under his eyes.

And then, it hit her.

Octavia rushed over to the door and knocked gently, to which Corporal opened the door and welcomed her inside, much to Classified's dismay.

"What do you want, Octavia? You know you're not authorized to be in here," Classified informed flatly.

"Yes, I-I know, Sir. And I'm sorry, but you need to listen me," Octavia began nervously, momentarily locking eyes with Dave's curious gaze before continuing, "All of you need to take a break."

Everyone, including Dave, looked at Octavia in utter confusion. The said yellow octopus glanced around nervously, trying to find the right words.

"I-I mean—just look at Dave! He's clearly tired from you guys asking him questions all night," Octavia quickly explained while pointing a tentacle at dave.

"_We're_ tired from asking questions all night," Eva clarified.

"Exactly. Why wouldn't he be tired, too?" Octavia gently urged.

Classified hated to admit it, but Octavia was right. If they had any hope of getting answers from Dave any time soon, they would _all_ need to be rested.

With that thought, the wolf let out a reluctant sigh, "Alright, Octavia. We'll take your advice—that means you as well, David."

"I thought you'd never ask," Dave added jokingly.

With that, the North Wind left the interrogation room, looking forward to getting into bed. But Octavia found herself unable to leave, as she turned towards Dave and watched him curl up in a corner of the terrarium.

"What?" Dave simply asked when he noticed that she hadn't left yet.

"N-Nothing, I was just trying to help," Octavia stated bashfully.

"And you've done that, so why are you still here?"

"Well, I wanted to…um…"

Octavia was once again speechless, as she mentally begged herself to just apologize to Dave for lying to him. But her loyalty towards the North Wind, as well as her knowledge of his past crimes, prevented her from doing so.

"Nevermind," Octavia muttered under her breath before finally leaving.

* * *

When Octavia woke up the next day, she expected to find the North Wind back in the interrogation bombarding Dave with questions again. But when she arrived, she was surprised to find that the North Wind was not only gone, but so was Dave.

She panicked at the thought of Dave possibly escaping, and all because she thought it was a good idea for him to be left alone and sleep. Octavia was certain she would never become a real agent if that were true; heck, she would be lucky if she wasn't relieved of duty for good. She hurried through some of the halls in search of Dave or Classified and his team, but stopped when she finally spotted a guard.

"Excuse me? Do you know where Classified and his team are? It's urgent!" Octavia questioned hurriedly.

"They're in one of the observation rooms on the third floor," the guard informed flatly.

Octavia thanked him before sprinting off, not even bothering to take an elevator because it would only slow her down. When she reached the correct floor, she looked through multiple windows to different rooms before eventually finding Classified's team. And much to her relief, she also spotted Dave with them, still trapped in a terrarium.

"What's going on?" Octavia inquired as she entered the room.

"Worried about me again, Canary?" Dave asked jokingly.

"Uh, no. No, no. But I _was_ worried that you escaped," Octavia nervously clarified.

"Don't worry. It will take a lot more than getting himself alone for Dave to escape," Classified reassured while turning towards the monitor, "Besides, we brought him here to observe some of these locations."

"Why? What's wrong?" Octavia urged while looking up at the monitor with concern.

"Technical difficulties and blackouts have been occurring all around the globe for weeks," Eva informed.

"And just recently, we managed to find the source of a blackout in Tokyo," Classified explained while enhancing an image on the screen.

"An electromagnetic pulse generator?" Octavia pondered aloud.

"Yes, and take a wild guess as to who that EMP belongs to."

Classified zoomed in on the image of the dark purple EMP, allowing them to read small words printed on the corner that read "Property of Dave." Everyone then turned towards Dave, either giving him a deadpanned look or a curious expression.

"What? It costs more to print a creative alias," Dave protested with a shrug.

"Alias or no, we need to find out why you created these EMP devices, and why they're going off now," Classified added demandingly.

"Otherwise, people will lose their internet access, and we all know how catastrophic that could get," Corporal stated with fear.

"Precisely. So, David, if you would be so kind as to enlighten us," Classified went on.

"What makes you think I'd help you?" Dave asked flatly.

"Because we have you completely surrounded, and you have no choice," Short Fuse replied matter-of-factly.

"Even so, if I did help you, I want something in return."

Classified's eyes narrowed into a harsh glare, "Like what?"

"His freedom," Octavia answered firmly, taking everyone by surprise.

"Excuse me?" Classified asked.

"No, don't excuse anything! Freedom sounds perfect!" Dave happily exclaimed.

"Right. Can you excuse us for a moment?" Classified muttered while pulling Octavia aside and lowering his voice, "Have you gone mad? If we let him go, we lose any chance of apprehending these EMP devices."

"I know that, but he won't be able to help us completely, let alone cooperate, if we don't give him his freedom," Octavia whispered back.

"How do you know we can even trust him?"

"I don't. But it's all we've got."

Classified stole a look at Dave, who smiled and waved back. The wolf couldn't believe he was being outsmarted by Octavia again, and rolled his eyes while grumbling.

"Alright. David the octopus, if you can successfully help us stop those devices before it's too late, _and_ if you can prove you have changed for the better—we will grant you your freedom," Classified begrudgingly explained, "Do we have a deal?"

"Hmm, you offer a compelling argument," Dave hummed sarcastically.

"Please, Dave. You're the only one who can help us," Octavia pleaded softly.

He didn't know why, but hearing someone ask nicely for once took Dave by surprise. After so many years of being feared and despised, he never expected someone like Octavia—who was undeniably pretty—to show him such kindness.

"Alright, you've twisted my tentacle. I'll help you get the EMPs and stop trying to get revenge on every animal that's more physically appealing than I am, and in return, you'll let me go. No more hunting me down, charging me for my past crimes, and I get to continue my research under the alias of Dr. Octavius Brine."

"Sounds fair to me," Octavia simply stated.

"It may be a little over excessive, but we'll have to make do," Classified sighed, "Corporal, let David out, but keep a stun gun pointed at him at all times. We can't risk him getting away."

"Aww, don't you trust me by now?" Dave questioned sarcastically, as he quickly slipped out of the terrarium when Corporal unlocked it.

"Not even close. We've come to a mutual understanding at best," Classified protested grimly, "That being said, we will be putting Octavia in charge of watching you until this mission is over."

"What?" Octavia squeaked in surprise, as a small blush crept onto her face.

"It's like we said: It takes an octopus to catch an octopus," Short Fuse pointed out with a chuckle.

"In that case, I don't see why I'd _want_ to escape. I mean, the only reason I'm even helping is because Canary asked so nicely, unlike you four. You could learn a thing or two from her," Dave rambled on while grinning at the North Wind, and even pulled Octavia close to show his appreciation towards her.

Being pulled flush against his body, more gently this time, made the Octavia's blush darken. And quickly noticing her discomfort, Corporal growled and pointed a stun gun at Dave while charging it up.

"Could you please let me go now?" Octavia whimpered.

"Oh, of course, my little Canary. Are you taking notes, Wolfy? 'Cause that's how you ask nicely," Dave stated mockingly while letting go of Octavia, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some research to do."

With that, Dave approached a computer that wasn't being used, but Octavia remained still to gather her thoughts.

"Are you sure you'll be ok watching after him?" Classified asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Octavia lied.

"If you say so. Just don't be afraid to ask for help."

"Thanks for the concern, Mr. Classified…"

Octavia paused to glance over at Dave, who was busy focusing on a computer screen. Despite his creepy yet goofy attitude, Octavia figured that continuing to be nice to Dave was the best way to make him cooperate.

"But I know how to deal with him."

* * *

**Alright, we've finally got part of the real conflict. And how well will Octavia's plan to reform Dave work? Only time will tell.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Team Octo-Penguin

Chapter 4 - Team Octo-Penguin

The North Wind gave Dave the rest of the day to find out what he could about the EMP devices, and returned to the observation room to see what he found out. But unlike Classified and the others, Octavia still cared about Dave's well-being, so she brought some coffee to keep him awake.

"What's this?" Dave asked with a curious smile.

"Just thought you'd like some coffee," Octavia replied while handing him the plastic cup.

"Why, thank you, my dear. It's nice to know that _some people_ have some hospitality around here."

Classified gave Dave a deadpanned look, knowing the latter was referring to him and his team. But when Dave took a sip of the drink, he immediately spit it out when the drink burnt his mouth. Whether or not he did it on purpose or accident, the contents of his mouth landed right on Classified's face, causing the said wolf's eye to twitch in pain and aggravation.

"Ooh, that'th hot!" Dave exclaimed while fanning his singed tongue.

"Can you just tell us what you found out already?!" Short Fuse snapped.

"Oh, sure," Dave answered calmly before turning back towards his computer, "Each of the EMPs are designed to go off and shut down all technology within range whenever I want them to."

"We _know_ how EMPs work. Why they're being activated now is what we really want to know," Classified growled after grabbing a towel to wipe his face.

"I wish I knew."

"What do you mean?" Octavia asked.

"Those devices aren't supposed to go off unless I tell them to, and they need a password to receive orders in the first place."

"Someone must have stolen access to them," Eva stated matter-of-factly.

"And reset the password," Corporal added.

"Exactly," Dave stated firmly, "And if we're going to shut them down, I need to find an EMP that hasn't been put out of commission yet."

"Why?" Classified inquired.

"I have a laboratory on that small island you kidnapped me from, and there's a computer in there that can track down the EMPs. But I need to find one and bring it to the computer, so that it can analyze its contents and pinpoint the others' locations."

"Do you know where we should start looking?"

"If I recall correctly, there should be an unused EMP somewhere in Mexico City."

"Well then, what're we waiting for? Let's get hunting," Octavia cut in excitedly.

"I like your attitude!" Dave cheered while pointing a tentacle at her, "In fact, why don't you come with me to retrieve it."

"Wait, really?"

"You're my babysitter, aren't you? Wolfy wouldn't let me go alone, anyway."

"He's right. We need you to go with him," Classified added before smiling when an idea came to mind, "But don't worry. We'll be sending a team of trusted colleagues to accompany you."

"And who exactly is on that team?" Dave questioned slowly.

Classified merely had to give Dave a knowing smirk to explain everything, and the latter instantly figured out who he was referring to.

"Oh, no," Dave groaned.

"What? What's wrong? Who's he talking about?" Octavia inquired worriedly.

Dave sighed before reluctantly replying, "Only four of the most annoying flightless birds on the planet."

* * *

A long day of running a circus tended to take a toll on the ringmasters, especially if the ring masters were four little penguins. But despite being tired, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private were all happy and looking forward to a frothy mug of herring juice.

But Kowalski was the least relaxed of the four, as an important decision had been on his mind for weeks. He stared fondly at a lovely picture of his beloved Eva, and his brothers couldn't help but notice the star-crossed look in his eyes.

"Thinkin' about her again, Romeo?" Skipper asked with a smirk.

"Yes, Sir," Kowalski sighed lustfully.

"Why do you sound so down then?" Private questioned with concern.

"You know why. I'm just…nervous."

"Nervous about what? She loves you and you love her, so what makes you think that'll ever change," Skipper reassured.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe embarrassing myself and her for the rest of our lives if I make even the slightest mistake."

"Now, you're just being paranoid, Kowalski. And if you don't talk to Eva first, I'm gonna march right up to her and say-."

Skipper was suddenly interrupted when Kowalski's emergency satellite phone started ringing, and he was overjoyed when he recognized the phone number.

"Hello, Darling!" Kowalski answered with delight.

"Hello, _Lyubit_," Eva cooed back on the other end of the line, "We need you and your brothers' help for an upcoming mission."

"You got it! We'll get our jetpacks, and we'll see you at HQ."

"Thank you. _Dosvedanya_, _Krasivyy_."

"I'll count the seconds until I see you again, My Love."

Even as Kowalski hummed at the thought of seeing Eva again, his brothers all gave him knowing smirks.

"Scoff if you must. You're just jealous you don't have such a beautiful woman," Kowalski protested and cleared his throat, "Anyway, the North Wind needs us at HQ immediately."

"Oh, so Classified needs our help again? I was wondering when he'd start missing the elitest of the elite," Skipper boasted.

* * *

When the penguins arrived at North Wind Headquarters the next morning, they were more than excited to see their friends again. But when they reported to a docking station to find what jet they would be taking, they were surprised to find two rather vibrant and unexpected guests.

"Debby!" Skipper snapped and got into battle stance when he saw Dave.

"Dave," Kowalski corrected softly.

"Dave!"

"Yes, yes. I'm the big, bad octopus. We've all established that. Anything else you'd like to say, Captain Obvious?" Dave ranted on mockingly.

"And he's not here to fight, anyway. He's helping us," Octavia quickly informed.

"Who are you, Miss?" Private asked politely.

Octavia smiled and extended a tentacle to shake, "I'm Octavia."

Private smiled back and shook her tentacle, "Nice to meet you, Octavia. I'm Private, and this is Skipper, Kowalski and Rico."

Kowalski and Rico were still suspicious yet kind enough to wave back, but Skipper gave her a suspicious look while crossing his flippers.

"Now, with pleasantries aside, you six need to get to Mexico City as fast as possible," Classified informed as he cut into the conversation.

"But how will we get there without a pilot?" Octavia asked with fear.

"I'll drive," Dave replied confidently.

"You know how to pilot a jet?"

"You don't?"

"I don't care who drives, just as long as you don't destroy the vehicle. They are all incredibly expensive, and Skipper is still in debt for the last one he put out of commission," Classified snarled at Skipper.

"I'm working on it!" Skipper shouted back, "Now, can someone tell us why we're here?"

"We need to find an EMP, and take it back to Dave's lab to track down the rest," Octavia explained.

"Before the low-down, dirty dog who stole my devices uses them to shut down technology all over the world," Dave added, but paused and turned towards Classified, "No offense, Wolfy."

"All taken," Classified muttered angrily.

* * *

**Two chapters in two days! Whoo! That's gotta be a new record!**

**Anyway, I felt like there hasn't been enough comedy, so I'm gonna try to fix that. Lemme know what you think. Also, in case you're curious or confused, Corporal does not have any romantic feelings towards Octavia, he's just a really good friend of hers, and he's protective of all his friends because he's just that nice:3**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Mexican Museum Mission

Chapter 5 - Mexican Museum Mission

The trip from North Wind headquarters to Mexico City started out…rather awkward, to say the least. True to Dave's word, he piloted the jet with ease, and never asked for help while the others sat near the back of the jet, trying to figure out how to pass the time.

"So, um…" Private began, wanting to break the silence, "How did you come to know the North Wind, Octavia?"

"Ya know, I've been wondering that myself! Spill the beans, Octi!" Dave called back cheerfully.

"Well—I owed them a favor from way back when, so I decided to help them by working for them," Octavia calmly explained.

"An agent, huh? Are you on Classified's team?" Skipper inquired with a cocked brow.

Octavia sighed at that, "Actually, I'm not on any team, and I'm not an agent either. They don't think I'm ready yet."

"What a doggone shame!" Dave snapped as he quickly approached them, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I heard _you_ were the one who discovered my whereabouts when no one else could. If you ask me, that sounds like perfect secret agent material."

Silence befell the others, as they either stared blankly or fearfully at him and the cockpit of the jet.

"What?"

"Who's flying this jet?" Kowalski slowly asked.

Dave waved a tentacle nonchalantly, "I put it on autopilot. But I digress. Just you wait, Canary, we're gonna prove to the North Wind that you'd make a great agent before the week is out."

Octavia glanced at Dave in surprise, "You would really help me do that?"

"Sure. It's the least I can do to repay your kindness."

"I-I don't know what to say, Dave."

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice."

A sudden ping from the jet's navigation system caught everyone's attention, as Dave rushed back to the control board and turned off the autopilot.

"We'll be in Mexico City in about an hour. Might as well find something to entertain yourselves in the meantime," Dave firmly informed.

"Good, 'cause in the meantime, I wanna ask you a few questions, Daryl," Skipper spoke up while jumping up onto the control board.

"Fire away," Dave replied jokingly, as he propped his head on a tentacle.

"I think the obvious question we all wanna know the answer to is, how the heck did you get out of that snow globe and turned back to normal?"

"Oh, that's an easy one! It didn't take long for that little brat to drop me and shatter the globe, and I escaped to one of my hidden outposts underneath the city. After that, I simply retrieved one of my emergency grow/shrink ray, and made myself bigger again. Unfortunately, regaining my original size so quickly also brought back my monstrous appearance."

"You mean, you just have grow/shrink rays on stand by at all times?" Kowalski questioned in disbelief.

"Sure do!"

"Riiiight."

* * *

Evening had fallen over Mexico City by the time the two octopi and four penguins arrived, but they waited until nightfall to infiltrate the building in which the EMP was located.

Strangely enough, Dave said that it was located inside a museum, which would only make their mission tougher due to the tight security. But with the help of some technology the North Wind leant to them, as well as Dave and Octavia's abilities to camouflage perfectly, they eventually snuck into the building unnoticed.

"Alright, Boys. Keep your guard up. You never know when you'll round a corner, and come face-to-face with the gnarly teeth of a ruthless guard dog," Skipper quietly instructed, as he and his brother got into a stealth stance.

"Or worse, the firing end of a gun barrel," Octavia added with paranoia.

"Exactly. All of you need to do when I say when I say it," Dave demanded.

"Hey, who put you in charge?" Skipper snapped.

"_I_ did, Flipper Boy. In case you forgot, it's _my_ device we're after, so I get the say in how we retrieve it," Dave snapped back while poking Skipper's chest.

"Guys, this isn't helping. And if you can't stand each other's company, then maybe we should split up," Octavia pointed out while putting herself between Dave and Skipper.

"Once again, you're the only voice of reason here," Dave muttered in defeat, "Skipper and Rico, you search the west side of the museum with Octi. Private and Kowalski, you'll search the east side with me. Are we clear on that?"

Skipper glared daggers up at Dave when the latter looked directly at him at that last part, but the others responded in agreement. Rico then coughed six walkie-talkies, one for each of them, and they finally split up.

"So, what're we looking for, Dave?" Private asked quietly, as they snuck down a dark hallway with displays of plants and animals from the Ice Age.

"Something rectangular and purple. Trust me, you'll know it when you see it," Dave softly replied.

"And why did you put an EMP in a museum, anyway?" Kowalski asked.

"It's right across the street from the Chapultepec Zoo."

Just to prove his point, Dave pointed out the window, where they spotted the zoo he mentioned across the street. Despite him being right, Kowalski and Private couldn't help but exchange confused glances at the odds.

Meanwhile, Octavia, Skipper and Rico traveled trough hallways meant for staff members only, and eventually stumbled upon a security room. One of the walls was covered in old TVs with surveillance footage all over the museum, and two security guards sat back in their swivel chairs while slumbering peacefully to the soft music that played from a radio on the desk.

Rico suddenly let out a few grunts and indistinct mumbles while pointing rapidly at the screens.

"Rico's right. we could probably locate the EMP faster if we use those cameras," Skipper whispered.

"If we're gonna do that, we better do it fast. Those guards might not be asleep a few minutes from now," Octavia quickly pointed out, as she and the others snuck into the room and scanned all of the screens.

"There!" Skipper whisper-shouted, and pointed up at a TV in the top left corner. It seemed to be overlooking a section of the museum with dinosaur skeletons, more specifically a giant skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex, and a small and rectangular object was resting within the skeleton's bottom jaw.

"This is Yellow Bird to Violet dash. You there, Violet Dash?" Octavia whispered into her walkie-talkie.

"I hear ya loud and clear, Yellow Bird. What's the word?" Dave responded back on the other end.

"We've got visual on something in T-Rex skeleton room. It's inside the skeleton's jaw."

"Copy that, Yellow Bird. We're on our way."

* * *

Dave, Private and Kowalski hurried over the room that Octavia described to them, and it didn't take long for them to find the giant dinosaur skeleton she mentioned. Dave then used the suction cups on his tentacles to climb up a wall and get a better view of the T-Rex, and soon spotted the EMP inside its bottom jaw.

"Alright, Boys. I'm gonna need your help," Dave whisper-shouted down to Private and Kowalski.

"What do you need us to do?" Private asked, eager to help.

"I'm going to throw you onto the skeleton, and you're gonna retrieve the EMP."

"What?!" Kowalski exclaimed, nearly too loud, "We can't just _land_ on that thing! It could fall and give away our position!"

Dave scoffed, "Oh, sure you can. the whole thing's supported by tight ropes. Now, hold still, you two."

Without warning, Dave stretched two tentacles down to the two penguins, and grabbed them before pulling them back up. The two begged him to stop and rethink his plan, but Dave didn't listen as he concentrated on aiming. With a whip of his tentacles, the two penguins were thrown across the room and landed squarely on top of the T-Rex's head, causing the whole skeleton to wobble a bit.

Kowalski was first to regain his bearings, and was relieved to find that the skeleton was still in one piece. But that also meant that Dave was right, and the said purple octopus flashed Kowalski an "I told you so" smirk.

"There it is," Private softly announced after climbing onto the skeleton's snout, and pointed into its mouth, where a purple-colored electronic device rested.

"Great! Now, grab it and let's go," Dave instructed while climbing down from the wall, and stood beneath the skeleton to prepare to catch the penguins.

"Hold on a second," Kowalski added firmly while jumping into the skeleton's mouth, and couldn't help but notice the red blinking light on the EMP, "Dave, what does a blinking red light mean?"

Dave quirked a brow in befuddlement, "Blinking red light? That could only mean-."

"Uh, it's getting faster!" Private squealed in a panic. True to his word, the red light was starting to blink even faster.

Just as Private said that, all of the lights in the room started the flash on and off, alerting nearby patrolling guards.

"Hey, there's something in the T-Rex room!"

"Let's go!"

Shouts from the guards and aggressive barks from their dogs made Dave and the penguins freeze with fear, which made Octavia and the other two penguins with her worry for them back in the surveillance room. And while they were busy looking up at the screens, they didn't notice one of the guards start to stir.

Rico sensed something was off and did a double take, but it was too late. The guard woke with a fright when he saw two penguins and a giant octopus in front of him, and frantically shook his comrade awake. But just before the second guard could gather all of his bearings, Rico coughed up an old rubber duck, and aimed it at the guards.

"Duck!" the first guard exclaimed while ducking, but the second guard wasn't quick enough and was knocked unconscious when the rubber duck hit him square in the face. Unexpectedly, the duck bounced off of the guard's face and hit the radio on the desk, causing it to switch to a channel playing Los Pericos' "Caliente."

"As fitting as the music is, we gotta go! Pronto!" Skipper shouted as he and Rico leapt towards the door.

"But what about the others? We can't leave without them!" Octavia protested.

Just then, the guard who was still awake flashed her a cold glare, while pulling out a taser that sparked with electricity as he pointed it at her.

The mere sight of the weapon was enough to change Octavia's mind, "Time to go."

With that, Octavia grabbed Rico and Skipper and zipped out of the door, the guard following close behind. But Octavia climbed up onto the wall when a few more guards and guard dogs started to chase after them, trying her best to keep herself and the penguins out of the taser guns' line of fire.

But while she was distracted with escaping, she accidentally lowered Skipper while traveling down a hall, exposing him to oncoming signs above exhibits. Skipper screamed in terror when he saw the signs coming right for him, and was bonked in the head multiple times before Octavia notice.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry, Skipper! Here, I'll hold you higher!" Octavia shouted frantically while raising Skipper above her, only to expose him to even more signs. She repeatedly said sorry each time Skipper was hit in the face, and just barely dodged a taser gun wire that was fired at her.

Eventually, they made it to the fire escape and climbed up to the roof, where the jet had been sitting the whole time. But when they entered the jet, they could find Dave and the other penguins anywhere. But Skipper knew they couldn't wait for long, so he started pressing buttons and pulling levers to try and activate the jet. Eventually, he found the right button, and the jet's engines fired up as it slowly rose up.

"Octavia!" a familiar voice pierced the air, as they suddenly spotted Dave climbing up the side of the building with Rico and Skipper still in his clutches, and more guards climbing up the fire escape to try and catch him.

Dave then pulled his tentacles back, preparing to throw Kowalski and Private again, "Catch!"

Octavia immediately caught onto to what he was doing, and outstretched her tentacles to effortlessly catch Private and Kowalski when they were sent flying through the air. She carefully placed them behind her and looked back over at the edge of the building, but Dave suddenly disappeared.

"Wait, we've gotta find Dave!" Octavia protested as the jet started to fly away from the building.

"Did you ever think to look down?!" Dave shouted up at her, as he pressed himself against the side of the building while the guards stopped and pointed their guns at him.

"You're going to have to jump!" Octavia instructed firmly, as she leaned out of the jet as far as she could.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Dave snapped back.

"You don't exactly have a lot of options or time left here! I'll catch you, I promise! Just hurry!"

Knowing Octavia was right, Dave looked back down at the guards one last time. And then, sucking in a deep breath and momentarily closing his eyes, Dave bundled up a few of his tentacles behind him, and quickly uncoiled them with all of his might to launch himself from the building.

The guards raised their taser guns and fired, each of the electrically-charged wires aimed right at Dave and just barely missing each time. And as Dave flew through the air, he focused solely on Octavia, who outstretched a limb as far as she could to grab him. Just when it seemed he missed and started to fall, she finally managed to grab a single tentacle and yanked him up onto the jet with all her might.

Skipper then closed the door and activated the autopilot, which charted a course to get them out of the city as fast as possible. The two octopi, however, lay side by side on the floor while trying to catch their breath after the whole ordeal.

"See? …What'd I say? …You're perfect…agent material," Dave stated between huffs with a reassuring smile.

"I wish that were…true…" Octavia began breathlessly, as she and Dave picked themselves up off of the floor, "We forgot the EMP."

Private suddenly cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, and he smiled proudly while raising a flipper he was previously holding behind his back. Much to their shock and delight, he was holding the EMP device, which was unharmed and in one piece.

"Wow, good job, Private!" Octavia cheered for him, and kindly took the EMP from him before bringing it over to Dave, "I believe this is yours."

"Oh, uh…thank you," Dave replied bashfully while taking the device.

"Well, it belongs to you, doesn't it?"

"N-Not just that, Octavia. I meant, thank you for saving my life back there. You were—well, you were pretty great on that mission."

Both Octavia and Dave were stunned by the latter's words. Octavia couldn't imagine a criminal showing gratitude so easily and quickly, and Dave never believed he would treat those who should be his enemies with such hospitality. But he didn't regret it, and she was happy to see his attitude improving.

"You weren't so bad yourself, Violet Dash," Octavia joked while playfully punching his side.

* * *

**Wow...uh...this chapter turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would be. Not that I'm complaining. Also, I hope the title of this chapter doesn't offend anyone because that's not my intention. I just chose that specifically because of the alliteration, so please, don't be mad.**

**Also also, the Chapultepec Zoo is a real location, but I highly doubt there's an actual museum across the street from it. If there is, then I just got really luckyXD**

**Also also also, kudos to those who found the Disney Pixar Incredibles reference.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Horsing Around

Chapter 6 - Horsing Around

On their way towards the small island with one of Dave's laboratories, Dave left the autopilot on while closely examining the EMP they retrieved from the museum. Something about the EMP suddenly going off rubbed him the wrong way, and he wanted to figure out why it happened before a similar event unfolded again.

And while Dave was focusing on the EMP, he couldn't help but suddenly listen in on Octavia and the penguins' conversation.

"You should've seen it. All the lights just started flickering," Private began to explain while recalling the events at the museum.

"That's weird. The lights were fine in our part of the building," Octavia pointed out.

"Which means someone was targeting us specifically. But why?" Kowalski pondered aloud, even tapping his chin with a flipper.

"Someone was after _me_," Dave cut into the conversation with a growl.

"No surprise there, given your track record with making enemies," Skipper stated dryly.

"Exactly. And because of the quantity of my enemies is so large, I'm not gonna be able to figure out who's after me anytime soon."

"So, what do we do?" Private asked.

"Well, first off, we've gotta get this back to my lab," Dave began while referring to the EMP, "Once we use it to track all the others, you four will take the information on their locations to the North Wind."

"What? Why aren't you coming with us?" Skipper questioned in suspicion.

"We can't risk bringing this into the North Wind headquarters, or else whoever stole it could activate it again and disrupt the technology there, too. I'll stay behind to deactivate this EMP, and follow you later to be safe."

The penguins exchanged surprised glances. They were still trying to get used to Dave's sudden good intentions, despite obviously being on lockdown with the North Wind. Nonetheless, they knew that he was right.

* * *

It didn't take more than an hour for them to arrive at Dave's laboratory, and they hastily exited the jet to enter the building. But as Octavia was last to exit the jet, one of her tentacles slipped off of the edge and she yelped while falling forward.

Either luckily or ironically, Dave was there to break her fall by catching her in his strong tentacles. Dave normally wouldn't be affected since he has held Octavia this close before, but being so close unintentionally put ice in his veins for some reason. It didn't help that their suction cups made them stick together, which awkwardly brought them even closer.

Meanwhile, the penguins couldn't help but stop and stare at the two octopi from a distance, and they were either disgusted or moved by their flustered movements.

"Great. Now, we've got another ally who's too love-struck ta focus," Skipper stated dryly while flashing Kowalski a knowing look.

"I think they're cute together. It's so romantic, like Beauty and the Beast," Private sighed happily.

Skipper rolled his eyes and gagged, as he and his brothers continued towards the lab, "I don't know what's weirder. The fact that one of our greatest enemies is now our greatest ally, or that there's an adelie penguin dating a snowy owl."

"Uh, heh-heh…I-I'm sorry. I wasn't watchin' where I was goin'," Octavia sheepishly apologized, as she yanked her tentacles from Dave one by one.

"There's, uh, really no need to apologize," Dave chuckled nervously, as he began to pry his tentacles away when they got stuck as well.

The two continued to untangle themselves while trying to avoid making eye contact, and eventually pulled away from each other. From there, they cleared their throats, still avoiding eye contact, and followed the penguins into the lab.

After being inactive for at least a few months, the laboratory was very dark and quiet; computers had gone into emergency shut off to conserve power, most rooms were covered in dust, and a few incandescent light bulbs here and there flickered since they were never turned off manually.

Luckily, Dave remembered his way around well enough to lead them to an observation room and switch on a light, revealing a large computer screen with an even larger control board below it. Dave silently and quickly turned the computer on, and placed the EMP on a clear and flat surface at the edge of the control board.

A bright purple light lit up beneath the EMP, as the computer continued to power on and analyze the small device. A few moments later, a large map of the globe appeared on the screen, along with multiple random dots; most of them were green while only a few of them were grey.

"What're those dots?" Octavia broke the silence.

"They're all EMPs," Dave informed, "Grey means they've already been used, green means they're yet to be used, and blinking red ones mean they're currently active."

"The one we found was blinking," Private added in realization.

Dave nodded in agreement, "Exactly. As I've said before, someone hacked it because they knew I was there. They wanted to sabotage the mission, so that I would caught."

"Well, they'll have to try a lot harder if they're gonna catch any of us," Skipper chuckled boastfully.

"This isn't about bein' slippery, it's about finding who's behind this," Octavia pointed out.

"And we'll find out exactly who it is, as long as we follow the pattern of the green dots," Dave quickly stated, and pointed a tentacle along the screen at the green dots, "This should help us track down the culprit, and we'll catch 'em red-handed."

Dave paused and pressed a button, pulling up a task bar that read "downloading." Once the download was finished, Dave pulled a USB port from the control board and turned towards the others.

"Take this to the North Wind. It has the exact locations of every EMP, and it'll keep tracking the ones that're active. I'll catch up with you after I've deactivated this EMP for good."

Skipper didn't hesitate to take the USB from Dave and leave with his brothers, but he stopped when he noticed that Octavia wasn't following.

"Aren't you coming?" Kowalski inquired.

"I'm still supposed to keep an eye on Dave. Classified's orders," Octavia clarified.

"Uh-huh. In that case, we better keep the autopilot on 'cause that jet's as good as gone if we fly it ourselves," Skipper groaned in annoyance, as he and his brother finally left the room.

That left the octopi alone in yet another awkward silence, to which they thought it best to end much quicker than last time.

"You don't _have_ to stick with me all the time, you know. I can take care of myself," Dave spoke up flatly.

"I know. But Classified doesn't trust you enough to be left alone, and I wouldn't wanna ruin my chances of becoming an agent by disobeying him," Octavia explained.

"Why do you wanna be an agent so bad anyway?"

Octavia sighed sadly, "I just…couldn't seem to figure out what to do with my life by myself, so I looked to the North Wind for help. They said I had the potential to be an agent, so they agreed to train me."

"And how's that working out for you?"

"I'm not really sure. They said that my final test was helping them find you, but they haven't said anything regarding my graduation yet."

"Then tell them you're tired of waiting."

"It's not that simple, Dave. I wish it was, but…"

"But…?"

Octavia looked up at Dave, who was seemed surprisingly interested in what she had to say. But discussing such a touchy subject she had kept to herself for so long was something she wasn't ready for yet, so she brushed it off.

"Nevermind. I'll tell you later."

Dave's eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, but went along with what she said, "If ya say so."

With that, Dave pressed a few more buttons and flipped a few levers, causing the purple light underneath the EMP to turn red. He then grabbed a few cables, and plugged them into the device's ports.

"So, um…" Octavia began, trying to lighten the mood, "How long will it take to deactivate it?"

"An hour at the most, plus another half hour just to be safe," Dave simply replied, "You can look around in the meantime to entertain yourself, just don't touch anything."

"Ok…?"

Octavia didn't know what else to say after that, so she slunk out of the room and left Dave to tend to the EMP. She figured that since Dave obviously didn't trust her with anything in his lab, it would be best for her to go outside and explore the island.

The sun was out and cast some warm rays on the beach, which felt soothing against her skin. The crystalline waves that gently came up onto shore were quite beautiful, and the clearness of the water allowed her to see some of the vibrant coral reefs on the ocean floor.

"Wow," Octavia breathed in awe. She never though someone like Dave would pick such a beautiful and serene place to make one of his hideouts/laboratories on.

A soft rumble from Octavia's stomach suddenly made itself known, reminding her of how hungry she was. She supposed Dave wouldn't mind if she went for a little swim, and went hunting for some lunch. What better way to work up an appetite than to chase your food, anyway?

Octavia dove into the water, and carefully made her way to the closest collection of coral trees, where some fish were hanging around. Using her special abilities to change colors and skin texture, Octavia blended in with a bright red coral tree and waited for a fish to get close enough.

She tried to snatch the fish in a tentacle, but she missed and startled it into swimming away. She banged a tentacle on the ground in frustration, blaming her brief time of living in captivity for making her hunting skills quite rusty.

"Need some help?" a sly voice spoke up, making Octavia yelp in surprise and lose her camouflage. It didn't take her long to realize that it was just Dave, as he was swimming beside her with a few freshly-caught fish in his grasp.

"When did you get down here?" Octavia asked slowly.

"Shortly after you did. I saw how bad your fishing skills were, so I thought I'd help."

Octavia rolled her eyes before adding sarcastically, "Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome, Canary. Here."

Dave then took a bite out a fish's head, and gave the tail end to Octavia. She stared at the offer with wide eyes at first, but eventually smiled shyly and took it from him.

"Thanks," Octavia muttered after swallowing the tail whole.

"Again, it's no problem at all," Dave protested nonchalantly, and effortlessly snatched another passerby fish.

Octavia furrowed her brows, as she remembered a question that has constantly been on her mind, "That reminds me. Why do you call me 'canary'?"

"Well, you're yellow like one, aren't you?"

"Not all canaries are yellow."

"Maybe not, but most of them are. I think the yellow ones are the prettiest, anyway."

The mere second Dave said that, both octopi's eyes popped wide and their cheeks darkened with red blushes.

"Um…ahem!" Dave quickly cleared his throat, and chuckled nervously, "N-Not that I meant _you're_ pretty! I-I mean, you _are_ pretty, but…uh…where am I even going with this?"

"It's ok, Dave. Really," Octavia gently reassured, even placing a tentacle over Dave's, "It's sweet of you to say that, and—well, no one's ever called me pretty before."

Dave's eyes widened again, this time in surprise, "Really? Why not?"

Octavia shrugged, "I don't really get out much."

"Well, you should. You're missing out on the world, and the world's missing out on you."

"Nah, I've kinda gotten used to being by myself."

"And yet, you don't seem to have a problem with hanging around me all the time."

Octavia couldn't help but giggle, especially at Dave's overconfident grin, "Only because it's my job, and because you're a nice guy. I'd hang out with you, even if no one asked me to."

"Oh, you have no idea how much that means to me!" Dave exclaimed while leaning over, and placing a tentacle on his forehead like a dramatic damsel.

"Oh, hush, you sappy cephalopod!" Octavia laughed and playfully pushed him away.

A devilish grin then crept onto Dave's face, "But if I did that, then I wouldn't be able to tell you when I was heading back to North Wind HQ. You'd be left all alone, doomed to live the rest of your life as a castaway."

"I'm a sea creature, Dummy. I can just swim back to the mainland."

"Not if I get there first!"

Octavia gasped in shock when Dave suddenly abandoned the fish, and darted towards the surface, "Hey, that's cheating!"

"I'm a criminal, Canary! Cheating's what I do best!" Dave laughed and looked behind him to make sure Octavia was following, but stopped when he couldn't see her anywhere.

He quickly looked around with worry, "Octavia? Octavia, where are you?!"

A few seconds of silence went by before a large object appeared out of the corner of his eye, and tackled him with enough force to send them both flying out of the water and onto the shore. Dave shook the dizziness from his head, and finally realized that it was Octavia who attacked him.

"Ok, now _that_ was cheating," Dave stated flatly, but smiled in amusement.

"Consider it payback for your unfair head start," Octavia argued and extended a tentacle, to which Dave took to stand himself up, "So, what do we do now?"

"Well—I suppose I could show you around the lab for a little bit," Dave hummed in thought, which made Octavia's eyes brighten.

"Really?"

"But only if you keep your tentacles to yourself."

"Deal."

* * *

**Yeah, this chapter is mostly just filler. And honestly, I was supposed to write a bit more and give it a more dramatic ending, but I thought it'd be too long. But don't worry, what I had planned for this chapter will still be in the next one.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	7. Chapter 7 - My Hero

Chapter 7 - My Hero

After spending some time looking around the lab and waiting for the EMP to finish deactivating, Dave and Octavia took one of Dave's helicopters to get back to North Wind headquarters.

Like their ride in the jet, the ride in the helicopter was very quiet at first. But Dave had something on his mind that he couldn't shake until he got some answers from Octavia.

"So, quick little question, and it's fine if you don't wanna answer. How come you had so much trouble fishing? Were you born in captivity?" Dave questioned, breaking the silence.

"Not exactly. I was born in the wild, but—something went wrong, and the North Wind rescued me. They shipped me off to a zoo after I was healed, and I lived there for a few years," Octavia calmly explained.

"You were in a zoo, too, huh? That's kinda neat. Did you know I was in a zoo for a while?"

"Yeah. I read about it in your file when I was tasked with finding you."

Dave couldn't help but grin boastfully at Octavia, "Oh, so, you reading about me, Canary?"

Octavia blushed but returned his grin with a smirk of her own, "Don't get any ideas. It was purely professional business."

"Professional indeed, especially considering the North Wind couldn't even find me. Good job, by the way."

"I try," Octavia chuckled while grabbing the EMP from the dashboard, "Also, why'd we bring this with us? If it goes off again while we're flying, we're sunk."

"The only way it can go off after being deactivated is with an override code, which only I and a select few know," Dave began, "And I figured that if we didn't bring it, the North Wind will just yell at me since it's valuable evidence."

Octavia shrugged, "Good point."

Just as Octavia set the EMP back down in a capsule, both octopi failed to notice that the blinking red light on it.

* * *

The penguins arrived back at North Wind HQ, and hastily brought the USB port to Classified's team. But out of the four team members, Eva was first to greet the penguins, more specifically greeting her boyfriend Kowalski with a passionate kiss. Like any other time the penguin and owl were affectionate, Kowalski's brothers reacted by looking away while Eva's teammates either ignored them or got all mushy.

"That'll never get old," Skipper muttered sarcastically.

"I'll say it again, you're just jealous," Kowalski boasted after he and Eva pulled apart.

"Right, and with that out of the way, can we please proceed with the mission?" Classified cut in.

Rico then coughed up the USB port, to which Classified caught it in mid-air and plugged it into a computer. The screen quickly displayed a map of the globe, and the same dots that appeared on the computer at Dave's lab appeared again.

"There's a pattern, Sir. A linear line is headed right for Paris, France," Eva informed.

"Paris," Classified repeated softly, tapping his chin until his eyes widened in realization, "Of course! The _Salon de la Technologie_ is in a few days! It will be a hot spot for technology!"

"That's not the only hot spot," Short Fuse interrupted while pointing a flipper at a blinking red dot on the screen.

"What is that?" Classified asked.

"Dave said blinking dots are active EMPs," Kowalski replied.

"And this one's moving," Skipper stated slowly, as realization hit him, "Which means…"

"It's Dave and Octavia! They're in danger!" Private exclaimed in terror.

"Corporal, fire up the jet!" Classified snapped.

* * *

Dave and Octavia remained oblivious to the active EMP, for the former was busy piloting the helicopter while the latter was occupying herself with looking out at the vast Atlantic Ocean.

But once again, Dave had another irksome question for his passenger.

"So, how come you left the zoo, anyway?" Dave asked.

"Uh…" Octavia failed to find the right words, as a light blush crept across her face, "It's kinda personal."

Dave's curious expression quickly faltered to embarrassment, "Right. I didn't mean to overstep a boundary."

"No, it's not that, I just…I tried looking for someone in the zoo, and I couldn't find them."

"What kind of someone?"

Octavia was just about to answer when multiple warning lights and alarms suddenly started going off, alerting the two octopi. Dave rushed to try and troubleshoot the problem, but the helicopter started the clank and wobble from turbulence.

"What's going on?!" Octavia shouted in fear.

"I don't know! It's like everything's shutting down, and I can't stop it!" Dave yelled back, as he looked up and noticed the obstacle they were heading for, "We're headed right for an oil platform! It's do or die!"

Just as he finished his sentence, the helicopter's propellers stopped spinning, causing it to spin out towards the ocean below. Dave darted towards a compartment in the back of the helicopter, and pulled the hatch door open.

"Jump!" Dave shouted demandingly before jumping out.

Octavia approached the exit as fast as she could, but she lost her balance and bumped her head against the wall hard enough to get knocked unconscious. She slipped out of the helicopter just before it crashed into the abandoned oil platform, exploding in a fiery inferno that spilt the remaining oil into the water.

Dave landed in the water and resurfaced, but he panicked when he couldn't find Octavia anywhere.

"Dave!" a familiar voice called from above, as the said octopus looked up to find Private calling down to him from a North Wind jet hovering above, "Octavia got knocked out! She's in the water!"

As soon as he heard everything, Dave dove back into the water and swam underneath the oil spill to avoid the fire spreading above. A pitch black wall of oil was forming all around him, but he luckily found Octavia limply sinking in the middle. Dave swam towards Octavia and carefully grabbed her and tried to escape, but was stopped by a hungry school of sharks.

Despite knowing they were in even more danger, Dave wrapped a few tentacles around Octavia protectively while scowling at the sharks. It wasn't long before one of the sharks charged towards him, to which Dave released a cloud of ink to blind it and escape. Two more sharks came from either side, but Dave easily caught on and swam backwards, causing the sharks to collide into each other.

Dave tried to swim away again, but a bigger shark blindsided him and bit down on one of his free tentacles hard. He screamed in agony and yanked his tentacle free, luckily escaping with only a few deep gashes. Just as the same shark came back to attack again, a tow cable suddenly landed in the water in front of Dave.

Dave grabbed the cable and held on tight, allowing him and Octavia to finally escape as they were hoisted up and out of the water. The cable pulled them up onto the jet, and Corporal helped them both onto emergency cots in the back of the jet.

Octavia began to star from her dazed state, rubbing her head and groaning in pain. She blinked in surprise when she saw Dave, however, and recalled what happened before blacking out.

"Dave?" Octavia spoke up gently, "Did you—did you save me?"

"Of course I did. What else was I gonna do? Leave you ta be shark chow?" Dave chuckled bashfully, as he hid his injured tentacle behind his back.

"I'm glad you didn't. You saved my life. You're a hero, Dave."

Dave had never been called a hero before, so hearing it for the first time caught him off guard. He looked Octavia directly in the eyes for a moment, taking in the fact that she was right.

At that thought, Dave blushed a little, "It was nothing, really."

* * *

Dave and Octavia were taken to the infirmary as soon as they got back to North Wind HQ, but they were told that they would be just fine, only needing some time to heal. Classified was even nice enough to let Dave stay in a more comfortable rec room instead of a prison cell, and he rested in front of a comforting fireplace over night.

Octavia still felt indebted to Dave for what he did, so she wanted to thank him one last time before heading to bed as well. But as she entered the doorway, she paused when she noticed how Dave rubbed the tentacle that was bitten.

"You're hurt," Octavia softly blurted out, nearly startling Dave.

"Oh, no! I'm fine, I promise. It was just a little nibble," Dave tried to reassure, but Octavia shook her head in disbelief.

She left to grab some supplies from the infirmary, and soon returned with some wash cloths, hydrogen peroxide, and a needle and thread. Octavia approached Dave and sat the supplies down, pouring some peroxide onto the cloth first.

"Give me your tentacle," Octavia gently demanded, to which Dave reluctantly extended his injured limb and let her take hold of it, "Try to hold still, or else this'll sting a lot more than it's supposed to."

"What do mean by-OW!" Dave attempted to ask, but exclaimed in pain when Octavia dabbed the wound with the cloth. The peroxide stung his wound, making him clench his teeth and shut his eyes tightly.

He endured it for another moment or two before Octavia was done cleaning it, but he feared the worst when she grabbed the needle and thread next.

"I'm going to sew it shut, so I'm going to need you to keep holding still," Octavia informed.

"No! No, no, no! I draw the line at sewing!" Dave snapped and yanked his tentacle away."

"If I don't close it, it'll get infected and fall off!"

"So what? I'm an octopus, I'll just grow a new arm!"

Octavia was getting quite irritated, but she kept her calm voice, "Dave, please. Let me do this for you."

Once again, Dave found himself at a loss for words when confronting Octavia. He didn't want to go through anymore pain, but he didn't want to make her feel guilty either.

"Fine," Dave sighed in defeat, placing his head on another tentacle and giving her his injured one again.

Octavia grabbed it and pierced the skin around the wound as gently as possible, but Dave still reacted with a grunt of pain. Octavia paused for a second, looking up at him before pulling the thread through.

"I wanted to thank you again, by the way," Octavia eventually pointed out.

"Are you ever going to stop thanking me?" Dave chuckled softly.

Octavia smiled jokingly, "Nope."

* * *

**Yup, I decided to throw in even more Beauty and the Beast references. You're welcome.**

**Also, we're starting to get some backstory on Octavia, and it doesn't stop there.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Denial is the Clincher

Chapter 8 - Denial is the Clincher

The next morning, Dave, Octavia and the penguins all received a message to meet up with Classified's team in an observation room. Despite still being a little sore from yesterday, Dave followed orders as to prevent the wolf captain from barking orders at him again.

"How's your arm?" Octavia asked Dave with great concern, as she entered the room with the latter.

"Much better, thank you. You make a great doctor, ya know," Dave stated matter-of-factly.

Octavia blushed, feeling quite flattered, "Oh, I'm no doctor. More like a—nurse of sorts."

Dave smiled reassuringly, "Either way, you're an excellent caretaker, Octi."

"Are you two done makin' goo-goo eyes at each other?" Skipper suddenly cut in, as he impatiently jumped up onto the table between them.

"Skipper, don't be rude!" Private snapped while he and the other penguins jumped up as well, "They're just having a conversation, which doesn't concern you, by the way."

"Ooh, someone's gone from the cutesy secretary/mascot to the feisty secret weapon! I like this new you, Private," Dave added with excitement.

"Don't get used to it. He only acts like that when he's obsessed over romantic relationships," Skipper quickly pointed out.

"Romantic?" Octavia asked.

"Relationship?" Dave parroted.

The two octopi then exchanged confused glances, but burst out in laughter seconds later.

"You've all got the wrong idea!" Octavia began.

"Yup, we're just friends! No where _near_ anything romantic, completely platonic!" Dave informed, but both octopi's laughter slowly died down into awkward chuckles; something about that fact made them feel—off.

Neither of them had time to press on about it, though, for Classified and his team finally arrived and took their seats on the other side of the table to start the meeting.

"As you all know, the threat of the mystery mastermind behind the EMP devices is growing at an alarming rate," Classified began firmly, "If we don't apprehend this criminal soon, technology around the world will continue to fail, likely until it creates fatal chain reactions."

"Where are you going with this, Classified?" Skipper asked demandingly.

The said wolf rolled his eyes, still agitated by the fact that that wasn't his name, but continued on, "I'm saying that after what happened to Dave and Octavia, my team and I shall try and search for more evidence concerning the whereabouts of the enemy."

"Wait, you mean, you don't want us going on missions anymore?" Octavia inquired worriedly.

"No. Not _you_, at least," Classified replied before averting his gaze to Dave, "But we will need to take him with us."

"Why only me?" Dave asked with a suspicious glare.

"First of all, Octavia is still only a trainee. And second, you hold vital information on the EMP devices, which will be useful out on field missions."

Dave deadpanned, "So, I'm still a prisoner?"

"Yup," Short Fuse answered with a smug grin.

"That's not fair! Why bring Octavia into this! She didn't do anything!"

"Exactly. If she is to become a _real_ agent, she will have to try harder. But for now, she needs to take a little break," Classified explained.

Octavia visibly shrank at Classified's words, feeling useless and guilty, even though everyone knew there was nothing she could have done. No one knew that better than Dave, who couldn't help but get angry at Classified degrading Octavia. But not wanting to look weak or make matters worse by disagreeing with the said wolf, Dave reluctantly held his tongue.

"What do you need him for now, anyway?" Skipper asked.

"We are going on a stakeout in Dijon, France. With any luck, we'll see who is activating the EMPs," Corporal informed.

"The penguins will be coming with us to help with crowd control, and Eva will stay here to further analyze EMP locations," Classified added firmly.

"Can I maybe help her since I'm stuck here?" Octavia questioned with high hopes.

"Of course you can. We can finally have some _devushka vremya_," Eva stated while smiling warmly, and quickly adding, "That means 'girl time'."

Octavia smiled back, "Sounds fun."

With that, Classified ordered the others to prepare to leave for France, to which Eva and Kowalski embraced each for the umpteenth time. Dave and Octavia were the only ones still in the room to witness the couple's affection, and neither one of them knew how to react at first.

"Please, come back safely, _Lyubit_," Eva cooed softly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, My Dear," Kowalski gently reassured before they finally let go, both of which blowing kiss at each other.

"Um…what Eva said…a-about comin' back, I mean," Octavia bashfully added.

"Well, of course. After everything I've been through, it'll take more than one little stakeout to get me down and out," Dave mused while lifting his injured tentacle, and neither him nor Octavia noticed Eva watching them.

With nothing else to say, the two octopi awkwardly broke eye contact while Dave slowly left the room, and Octavia slunk towards Eva at the desk.

"So, how are things?" the said snowy owl asked curiously.

"What things?" Octavia questioned, cocking a brow in confusion.

"Oh, you know, your adorable relationship with Dave."

Octavia's face immediately blushed dark red, "W-What?! We're not close or anything like that! W-We just said we're only friends!"

Eva smirked, "And yet, you look at him with such desire—just as he looks at you."

Octavia didn't respond, hoping that her silence would be enough to make her argument valid. But her doubtful expression told Eva otherwise.

"Look, Octavia," Eva gently began, "I know you've been through a lot in the last ten years, and I'm sorry—but if you don't tell him how you feel now, you will regret it for the rest of your life. You might never find someone like him again."

Octavia sighed in sorrow, "I know, but—what if it doesn't work?"

"What if it does?"

"I wish I had your confidence, Eva. I mean, look at you and Kowalski. You guys are more different than Dave and I, and you act like an old married couple. How do you do it?"

"It's not easy, but we get through it. Do you know how?"

Octavia shook her head.

"Love. It may come with sacrifice, but there is no greater gift."

* * *

Classified and the others waited until night fell to begin their stakeout, which took place near Porte Guillaume. Classified, Corporal and Short Fuse did little to nothing while sitting at their computers in the jet, which was cleverly hidden behind camoflauge panels, and Dave and the penguins were left in silence with nothing to do.

"So—no donuts and coffee?" Dave asked slowly, "You can't have a stakeout without donuts and coffee. Everyone knows that."

"Be that as it may, we have no time for snacks. We're trying to track down traces from the user of the EMP devices," Classified explained flatly, not even turning away from his computer.

Dave deadpanned, "Well, if that's the case, I'm going for a walk."

Classified whipped around in his chair in surprise, "What?! You can't just waltz around now, we're hunting the enemy!"

"Exactly. If they're using my stuff, then they're probably after me. What better way to find this guy or gal than by using me as bait?"

Classified opened his mouth to protest, but froze and widened his eyes in realization. He was seriously getting sick of being outsmarted all the time.

"I don't know why I bother anymore," Classified muttered and then cleared his throat, "You can go out, but you must take the penguins. You never know when you might need witnesses, and report back to us immediately if you notice anything suspicious."

Dave rolled his eyes but complied, opening the hatch on the side of the jet and nonchalantly slipping out with the penguins close behind. And while the penguins got into battle stance, Dave remained calm and calmly strolled down desolate parts of the street.

But Skipper couldn't help but smirk when he looked up at Dave, coming up with an idea to irk his old enemy.

"So, Daryl," Skipper began slyly, "How does it feel to go from ruining hundreds of penguins' lives to saving a damsel in distress?"

"Damsel in distress?" Dave parroted, cocking a brow.

"Don't play dumb, Duke. We all know you enjoyed getting a chance to be Octavia's knight in shining armor."

"You're crazy! I was just doing the right thing!"

All four penguins grinned at Dave's huffiness, and Skipper continued, "Denial is the clincher."

Dave's eye twitched and his face went dark red, scoffing and turning away with nothing else to retort with.

"Admit it. You've got the L word," Kowalski joined in.

"Leprosy?" Private guessed.

"No, Private. It's four letters, starts with l and end with e."

"Ah-ha! Lice!"

Kowalski blinked in confusion, "What? He doesn't even have hair!"

"And we were talking about _love_, Private," Skipper quickly pointed out.

"No, no, no! You guys are dead wrong!" Dave snapped, to which the penguins all laughed at his reoccurring denial.

Dave continued to walk away while the penguins mockingly sang out him and Octavia sitting in a tree, and he sat down on the edge of a fountain to think. He made sure to keep his face out of sight, for he couldn't help but smile a little at the thought that maybe—just maybe—the penguins were right.

Unfortunately, since Dave was so distracted, he failed to notice a shadow silently approaching him the fountain water. And without warning, a blunt object collided with the back of Dave's head, knocking him out cold as he plopped into the water. By the time the penguins noticed, Dave was already gone.

* * *

**If the chapter title wasn't a dead giveaway, there was an Ice Age: Continental Drift reference in here. Did you see it? There's also a How to Train Your Dragon 3 reference. It's not word-for-word, but it's intended.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	9. Chapter 9 - Kuzco

Chapter 9 - Kuzco

The concentrated silence of the jet was instantly interrupted when the penguins came rushing into the cockpit, nearly making Classified and the others jump out of their skin. The three North Wind agents struggled to distinguish what the penguins were saying, as all four them rapidly talked over each other in a panic.

"Ok, just…please, stop…you need to…" Classified tried to calm them down, but raised his muzzle skyward when it proved futile, "ONE AT A TIME!"

That was enough to finally shush the penguins, and Classified cleared his throat.

"Thank you. Now, will one of you please tell me what's wrong, and do it _calmly_?"

"Debra's gone!" Skipper snapped.

"Debra? I think I know a Debra," Short Fuse asked, muttering the last part under his breath.

"He means Dave," Kowalski grimly added.

"He vanished!" Private exclaimed in fear.

"Vanished? How?" Corporal inquired.

"We don't know. One minute, he was with us at the fountain, and the next, he's just gone," Kowalski explained.

"Blast! He must've escaped. I knew we couldn't let him out of our sight," Classified hissed with anger, instantly switching on a comm.-link afterwards, "Come in, Eva! Are you there?!"

* * *

"Come in, Eva! Are you there?!"

"Right here, Sir!" Eva replied firmly, averting all of her attention to the computer, as did Octavia.

"Dave has vanished! I need internal scans above and below the city immediately!"

"Copy that!"

"Wait a minute," Octavia piped up worriedly, "What do you mean, Dave vanished? What happened?"

"He left the jet, and disappeared shortly afterward. We suspect he may have used the opportunity to make a clean getaway, and pursue his evil deeds," Classified explained on the other end of the comm.-link.

Octavia shook her head in disbelief, "No…no, he wouldn't do that!"

Classified growled impatiently, "It doesn't matter either way. We need to find him right away."

"And I just did. I've got movement traveling downward rapidly," Eva cut in, as she put up an x-ray of sewer systems below Dijon; it didn't take long for them to spot a flashing purple dot deep within the twisting pipes traveling downward.

"Good work, Eva. Now that we found our target, it's time to retrieve it," Classified ordered sternly, shutting off the comm.-link.

Eva turned her head towards Octavia curiously, and wasn't surprised when she saw the latter's fearful expression.

"You want to help, don't you?" Eva asked matter-of-factly.

"Of course I do! What if Dave's in danger, or being tortured, or-?!" Octavia rambled on, but stopped herself and blushed madly when she saw Eva's grin, "I-I mean…he saved my life, so it's only fair that I try to save his."

"Very well," Eva mused, her grin growing as she turned back towards the computer to ready another jet for launch.

* * *

When Dave came to, the first thing he noticed was the horrible stench all around him. After opening his eyes and taking in the dimply lit tunnels he was in, Dave could tell he was likely in a sewer system.

"Yuck! This place smells worse than my aunt after she ate after those bean burritos," Dave muttered in disgust, picking himself up off of the ground and slowly proceeding down a tunnel.

It wasn't until Dave entered a large chamber, which acted as a meeting point for multiple other tunnels, when a strangely low chuckle echoed throughout the sewers. He looked around frantically, trying to find the owner of the cackling; eventually, he spotted a shadow growing larger down one of the tunnels, and whoever was creating it was getting closer.

"Tell me, Old Friend. How is your 'lovely' auntie?" a sinister and British-accented voice asked, the air-quotes in his tone obvious.

Dave furrowed his brows, "That voice…I know that voice."

The voice laughed victoriously, "Oh, and here, I thought you would have forgotten me! I'm truly touched…"

The owner of the voice and shadow finally rounded the corner, stepping out into the light and revealing an emperor penguin; he had a devious gleam in his green eyes, a faint scar over his left eye, and a hunch in his back.

"Dave," the penguin continued with a large grin.

"Kuzco," Dave hissed back.

Kuzco chuckled again, and held his flippers behind his back while approaching Dave, "Happy to see me again?"

Dave growled while circling Kuzco, "As happy as anyone could be when seeing a filthy creep like you again."

"You're not one to talk."

"Maybe, but at least I was almost one hundred percent successful with my evil deeds. What've you ever done except cower, Kuzco?!"

"It's not what I _have_ done, Dave—it's what I'm _about_ to do."

The two continued to circle each other, Dave's scowl growing colder while Kuzco's amused grin remained.

"Did you really think that it was a coincidence that you came across me just after all of those EMP devices suddenly started to go off?" Kuzco began confidently, "Think about it. I'm not a pretty birdie, but I make up for it with exceptional intelligence—another thing we have in common, you know."

"I am _nothing_ like you," Dave argued with another deep growl, "And I promise you that before this night is over, I'm gonna make sure you get caught this time."

Kuzco chuckled tauntingly, "Oh, really? You mean, just like how you 'caught me' all those years ago, and allowed me to become the one person who could rival you? So much for your 'ingenious plans'."

Kuzco's continued sarcasm and air-quotes had brought Dave to his limit, causing the latter lash out and lunge towards him. But Kuzco predicted this, and jumped onto his smooth belly to slide away. Dave tilted forward in confusion, whipping around to try and find Kuzco.

"What's the matter, Invertebrate? Penguin got your competence?" Kuzco taunted while sliding up onto a plinth.

"Shut up! You're only like this because of me! You should be thanking me!" Dave snapped in a blind rage.

"Oh, you're absolutely right, Dave! Like you, I've formed a plan for revenge against those who have wronged me, and I will stop at nothing to achieve it—but unlike you, I am willing to forgive one of my enemies for an even better outcome."

"What're you talking about?!"

As the two enemies bantered, both of them failed to notice two teams of unexpected guests quickly approaching the chamber they were in. In one tunnel, Classified and the other male agents stealthily grew closer; in a tunnel that was opposite of them, Eva and Octavia crept in the shadows. All of them were within hearing range.

"Tell me honestly, Dave. Do you really wish to spend the rest of your life sucking up and catering to those who are too righteous and soft-minded to do what's necessary?" Kuzco seethed with anger, but took a calming breath in, "Or would you rather join me, and get the revenge and glory you have always dreamed of?"

The sewers went silent. The agents, the penguins and Octavia all held their breath, undetermined of what Dave would choose; although, at least one of them was hopeful that he would do the right thing.

Dave blinked and looked down for a moment, pondering Kuzco's offer. But as fun as it sounded, he had too many people that depended on him, and he wasn't going to disappoint any of them.

"Ya know something, Kuzco," Dave began softly, keeping his head lowered and slowly reaching for a nearby pipe, "I liked you better—when you were just a stupid, adorable penguin like the rest of them!"

Dave suddenly grabbed the somewhat bent pipe, and pried it from its original position. The missing piece suddenly caused a geyser of pressurized water to shoot up, but Dave ignored it and threw the pipe at Kuzco with all of his might. Unfortunately, Dave was not fast enough, for Kuzco pulled out a small gun that fired a powerful laser at the pipe, disintegrating it in seconds.

As sparks from the remnants of the pipe drifted to the ground, Dave gasped and realized just how much danger he was in. And after looking up to see the laser gun not pointed at him, he was certain he was doomed.

"Such a shame," Kuzco stated mockingly, waiting for the gun to charge up to full power, "But also ironic that the creature that ruined your life was your undoing."

"He won't be undone today, traitor!" Skipper suddenly shouted, distracted and utterly confusing Kuzco.

Once he was distracted, Octavia took it upon herself to act first, and burst out of the shadows. Everyone watched in surprise at her sudden actions, especially when she performed a flip just above Kuzco's head, grabbing him and using the momentum to toss him right at the pipe geyser. The pressure from the geyser was enough to lift Kuzco u and threw another smaller tunnel, to which he sled down and disappeared with frightful screams.

Octavia luckily landed upright soon after, earning multiple cheers and congrats from the others for her bravery. And while he would have shown his appreciation, too, Dave stayed quiet as he registered the severity of the situation.

"Are you alright, David?" Classified finally asked once he noticed his strange behavior.

"No. No, I'm not," Dave began, looking up at everyone with a stern expression, "We're in a lot more trouble than I thought."

"Trouble?" Corporal parroted in confusion.

"What trouble? We just kicked that penguin and his itchy trigger flipper's butt!" Short Fuse laughed.

Dave shook his head, "You got lucky—and even then, I'm having doubts."

"Why? Who was that emperor penguin?" Classified urged.

"Trust me, he's no ordinary emperor penguin. Kuzco was a penguin I kidnapped years ago when I was testing out one of my Medusa Serum prototypes, but something went wrong after he was injected with the serum, and he suddenly gained unimaginable strength and intelligence—for a penguin, at least. Now, he goes around stealing parts and devices from other scientists' creations, all to improve his own."

The others remained silent, knowing that if Dave feared the situation, it really was worse than they thought.

"We'll be lucky if we catch him again before he catches us," Dave continued.

"Sounds like what ever he has planned for the EMPs can't be good," Corporal added.

"Certainly not. And it's like David said, we won't stand a chance against Kuzco if we don't act fast—which is why we should turn our attention to the upcoming _Salon de la Technologie_."

"Salon de-what?" Private asked.

"It's French, meaning some kind of convention for technology," Kowalski explained.

Classified nodded, "Precisely. If Kuzco really is after only the best technological devices, he's sure to be there. We'll discuss more on the matter back at HQ."

With that, the agents and penguins left the chamber to begin their ascent back to the surface, all of which failing to notice that Kuzco remained cleverly hidden in the tunnel he presumably slid down.

"If they want a party—I'll show them a real _shindig_," Kuzco chuckled lowly while rubbing his flippers maniacally, only to lose his grip and yelp when he slid back down the tunnel.

* * *

**Yes, Kuzco is a total reference to the Emperor's New Groove. Emperor penguin Kuzco. Get it? Also, I know Classified already has a British accent, but I couldn't help but imagine Kuzco being voiced by Jeremy Irons or Jermaine Clement.**

**Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


End file.
